• Varsha Srivastava
To find true love is nothing but an act of choice and destiny. “Lovin' A Hero” is a contemporary fiction which delves into the realm of relationships. The novel is full of surprises and romance. Friendship, passion, romance, laughter, humour, even Bollywood - readers will find everything in this wonder-romance. Open each chapter to savour the delicacy of love and hope. This work is not about loving a superstar or hero, it’s about finding the hero in the person we love…our parents, lovers, children. It’s about overcoming difficulties together and loving the heroes we are with! The novel also builds such a tempo that leads both of the protagonists to themselves and their love.

This lovely novel is written by Ch. Lady Diana, who herself is an editor in a leading publication house. Diana, who originally hails from India's northeastern state Manipur, is an alumnus of Delhi University. Her previous work “The Mirage of Love” was well appreciated by readers from cross-sections of the society.

"Lovin' A Hero" is about stepping out of one's apprehensions, fear of stigma and realising the ideals of love. It may be a far-fetched idea to be romancing with a Bollywood star and stories are ample in this genre of romance. But this book typically stands out on the basis of the basic need for humans to find love and affection.

One of the themes that the book explores is the checking of progression of feelings and relationships out of fear for losing it. Aditi, the protagonist, tries to run away from her feelings and the man in her life, and she herself go silent in realising each other’s feelings. Both have been through a harsh past of having been through broken relationships which is why the apprehensions become eminent. But as food serves the hungry stomach, in their case – love serves their broken hearts. A whirlpool of feelings and the dread to remain away from each other force them to acknowledge each other’s love.

Another theme that the novel explores is fear of stigma. The protagonist who is a single mom and her parents doesn’t want the society to speak ill of them. The parents especially are afraid that she would enter into another wrong relationship or they are afraid for her lonely future with her son. They are not able to decide whether she should have a man in her life again or she should stay with them single to fit within their terminology of ‘being safe’.

The novel categorically talks about how choices affect our psychology. Aditi’s lover has as much been in a brutal past but he makes a choice not to wear his hurt but rather to do what he can to make the most of his days cheerful. However, Aditi falls into a pit of depression where the only choice she makes is unhappiness and distrust. The symptoms of both these choices are evident during their interaction.

One of the most important themes that the novel covers is the relationship between children and their parents. The fact that the protagonist doesn’t want to hurt her parents by making her own choices is not subservience but her only way as a retreat to give the respite to her parents whom she thinks they deserve, out of self-pity or guilty conscience. The fact that her father doesn’t want her to marry a man of her choice is not patriarchal, but his fear that she will end up in a wrong relationship again where she will be hurt.
Here are a few chapters of the Book - https://thedcchannel.wordpress.com/